architects and urban designers

Parkway Bridge

Location: Sheffield

Programme: 2007

Client: Sheffield City Council

Contract Value: £450 000

Inspired by coils of steel, the parapets, truss cladding, handrails and decks describe arcs that seem to emerge from the landscape. The threads of the approach footpaths and bridleway are drawn together, as the various users are brought alongside the crossing.

Organised in a gentle spiral, the two routes were cantilevered towards the central reservation of the road. Reversing the sequence, the routes were unwound and split, dispersing the different groups of people back into the countryside.

By designing the span as a double cantilever, the construction was made easier by removing the need for out-of-hours road closures. The two bridge halves were designed to be structurally independent during construction, brought together to touch at the minimum deck depth.